The Breath

Do you know what I find frustrating? When people tell me to try something without a great deal of explanation. I want to know what I should be looking for. I want to know what I am in for. I want to know.

But that is not how we learn to breathe is it? When you emerged into the world, covered in the paraphernalia of birth, you had one task: to breathe. You coughed, snorted, and wolfed down lungs full of the one thing your body cannot go an hour without. Air.

You did not receive a tutorial on how to breathe.You breathed.

The Holy Spirit has been called the ruach or breath of God. I love knowing this. It seems so intimate and profound, but just knowing it lacks a bit on the experiential front.

So, I invite you to engage, without a lot of explanation, in a practice of breathing a psalm.

Read through each line of the psalm with your breath. This will, obviously, be a silent meditation (as you can’t breathe in and talk at the same time). Try to allow your full attention to rest on the portion of the psalm that coincides with the phase of your breath.

Sit quietly and bring your attention to your breath. When you are ready, begin with reading “Bless the Lord, O my soul,” as you breath in, and then continue with “O Lord my God, you are very great,” as you breath out.